Summer Reading List 2016

They say people who read books are smarter, more successful, and nicer. I’m not sure I believe that, but it does give a nice little nudge to check out some good books to finish the rest of the summer strong. We know appraisers have been busy and haven’t had much time to take a breath let alone a break. If you don’t have the free time to read, most of these are available in audio format to listen to as you drive around town. Whether digital or paperback we recommend these titles for your summer reading list.

The Power of Habit
By: Charles Duhigg
“The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.” Duhigg has read hundreds of scientific papers and interviewed many of the scientists who wrote them, and relays interesting findings on habit formation and change from the fields of social psychology, clinical psychology and neuroscience. This is not a self-help book conveying one author’s homespun remedies, but a serious look at the science of habit formation and change.

Lords of Finance
By: Liaquat Ahamed
“Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World.” It is commonly believed that the Great Depression that began in 1929 resulted from a confluence of events beyond any one person’s or government’s control. In fact, as Liaquat Ahamed reveals, it was the decisions made by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of that economic meltdown, the effects of which set the stage for World War II and reverberated for decades. As yet another period of economic turmoil makes headlines today, Lords of Finance is a potent reminder of the enormous impact that the decisions of central bankers can have, their fallibility, and the terrible human consequences that can result when they are wrong.

GRIT
By: Angela Duckworth
“GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perserverance.” Grit is about striving to overcome obstacles and how the act of not giving up alone can improve your chances for success. Duckworth brings her lessons to the reading public. Duckworth offers what amounts to a four-step program, the last step of which is to overcome pessimism by cultivating what her fellow psychologist Carol Dweck calls a “growth mind-set.” Duckworth’s Ted Talk on this subject has been viewed almost 9 million times.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things
By: Ben Horowitz
“The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers.” While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run one. Ben Horowitz analyzes the problems that confront leaders every day, sharing the insights he’s gained developing, managing, selling, buying, investing in, and supervising technology companies. Horowitz offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog.

The Rise and Fall of American Growth
By: Robert J. Gordon
“The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War.” In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, home appliances, motor vehicles, air travel, air conditioning, and television transformed households and workplaces. With medical advances, life expectancy between 1870 and 1970 grew from forty-five to seventy-two years. Weaving together a vivid narrative, historical anecdotes, and economic analysis, The Rise and Fall of American Growth provides an in-depth account of this momentous era.

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